diff --git a/src/error_handling.c b/src/error_handling.c
index 92c0659..aee0e2c 100644
--- a/src/error_handling.c
+++ b/src/error_handling.c
@@ -50,5 +50,8 @@ void error(gamestatus error_code, char const* fmt, ...) {
     write_args(buf, fmt);
     (void)fprintf(stderr, "\033[91mE: %s\033[0m\n", buf);
     SDL_ShowSimpleMessageBox(SDL_MESSAGEBOX_ERROR, "something went wrong! :O", buf, NULL);
+
+    // set status, but exit immediately, as code is not allowed to execute beyond this point
     status = error_code;
+    exit(status);
 }
diff --git a/src/error_handling.h b/src/error_handling.h
index 5e47d13..a5fe13e 100644
--- a/src/error_handling.h
+++ b/src/error_handling.h
@@ -31,4 +31,4 @@ gamestatus get_gamestatus(void);          // gets the current status of the game
 void debug(char const*, ...);             // prints a debug message to stdout if the DEBUG environment variable is set, otherwise the call is ignored.
 void info(char const*, ...);              // prints an info message to stdout
 void warn(char const*, ...);              // prints a warning message to stderr
-void error(gamestatus, char const*, ...); // prints an error message to stderr
+void error(gamestatus, char const*, ...); // prints an error message to stderr before exiting